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Mud, Rocks, Blazes
- Letting Go on the Applachian Trail
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
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Mud, Rocks, Blazes
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Summary
Following her best-selling memoir, Thirst, here is the next step in Heather “Anish” Anderson’s adventurous life journey - one of deep emotion and self-discovery
Despite her success setting a self-supported Fastest Known Time record on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2013, Heather “Anish” Anderson still had such deep-seated insecurities that she became convinced her feat had been a fluke. So two years later she set out again, this time hiking through mud, rocks, and mountain blazes to crush her constant self-doubt and seek the true source of her strength and purpose.
The 2,189 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Maine to Georgia, did not make it easy. Anderson struggled with its infamous rain, humidity, insects, and steep grades for 54 days. But because she had to fight for every step, she knew when she reached the summit of Springer Mountain, the AT’s southern terminus, that she had fully earned the trail. Of greater value, she learned to love herself and her body, and to feel the depth of her power. Examining emotional scars as well as her relationship with her mother, Anderson’s deeply internal yet highly physical journey in Mud, Rocks, Blazes is an essential story.
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What listeners say about Mud, Rocks, Blazes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kirsten
- 14-01-23
Ok but glad it didn’t cost me a credit
The narrator has an annoying way of sounding breathless at the end of each sentence. Apologies in advance as any listeners to this audiobook will now hear it ALL THE TIME!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 09-01-23
Great inspirational story
Grit and determination. Great adventure book. If anything it could do with a bit more background to The challenge, trail walking and herself.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-12-22
love the route..
awesome and lively narrative of a journey to find ones limit. so good to consume (not 4k calories worth) in the car via audio.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Irma Baltes
- 26-11-22
A Strong Woman
What an achievement Heather has made in this book and her life. Every step brought her not only closer to her goal but also to herself.
I completely understand her journey and am thankful for her well written account of her journey onward and inward.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Arron S.
- 15-11-22
terrible narration
I'll have to fund the actual book as I'm sure this us a great story.
unfortunately due to the incredibly irritating narration I couldn't get past the first 30 mins...
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ms. Yvonne McCann
- 08-11-22
not bad
struggled with this one. seemed very ego driven. not for me but a decent enough listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- K Bowman
- 04-11-22
Inspiring and comforting
loved this honest account of how even when we push through our limits and achieve our heads can give us a hard time accepting we are good enough. a great read and an amazing story. 👏
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ailsa van Rooyen
- 30-10-22
Oh wow
Loved Anish's story of her journeying. She is humble to a fault and strong beyond belief. Inspiring and reflective, she confirms that so much is possible, yet the biggest battles may be won much closer to home.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- rj2para
- 30-09-22
Congratulations Anish
Excellent achievement and a great listen. Very thought provoking, a lack of confidence is not far below the surface for many of us. Loved the emotional words and the presentation.
Thanks
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Hazel
- 17-09-22
Why do it if you hated it so much?
Ive read many books about the Appalachian trail and the PCT they have been great with descriptions of breath taking views and amazing people met along the way. This book however was a huge disappointment.
Every sentence is negative. She hurts SO bad, she is SO hungry, she is dying of thirst. The fact she leaves her mom right after having a stroke to do this trek speaks volumes about her selfishness.
She pushes herself so far that l actually believe she has some sort of disorder. If she isn't in pain, she believes she's not pushing herself hard enough.
There was absolutely no mention of any beautiful moments on the trail. It was a race to get it finished and made out to be a crippling chore. Her only mention of bliss was when she managed to get a shower off trail.
It is also peppered with 'false modesty' statements which just added to my sheer dislike of her. Everyone she meets has to mention how amazing she is for walking 30 miles a day.
She walked this beautiful trail, but clearly left her soul at home.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- RugerM77
- 30-03-21
Good story.... of self doubt and self pity
Let me start off by saying this review is in no way to take away from Heather Anderson's accomplishments, her FKTs, hiking abilities, etc. I can only hope to one day thru hike one of three long trails in the US. I couldn't imagine how difficult and the situations a thru hiker must overcome to keep going on a daily basis. That being said, this review is just my opinion,
I have a long commute to work (an hour each direction) and this is my 49th audio book in the last year+. I listened to "Thirst" about her FKT hike of the PCT prior to buying this book. Heather is a great writer. She describes her hikes vividly and in detail making you wish you were there. The biggest problem I have is her REPEATED self doubt, lack of confidence, self pity, whoa is me attitude. We all (not just thru hikers) question our abilities, question how far we can push ourselves, have fear of failing, etc. This is absolutely normal. No one is 100% confident in their own skin and 100% mentally strong. I understand this. What I don't understand is why Heather has to keep stating it over and over and over in the book. I may had thought the same when listening to Thirst but there's been too many books in between. Listening to her self doubt is like listening to a broken record. We as a reader (listener in my case) want to hear the story and be excited, not keep hearing the author questioning why her abilities and why she is doing this. Heather - you ARE strong. You ARE an accomplished hiker! Stop questioning yourself (or at least don't repeat it over and over in your books).
11 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Us 5 Camp
- 13-08-21
Whining whining whining
Admire the accomplishment. Tried of the constant whining. Actually feel sorry her self worth was so low to punish yourself like that to prove to yourself you are not a failure.
First book I've stopped in a long time.
I pray she's doing well.
Edit: I went back and finished the book to see if it turned a corner. Although I won't give that away, I still feel empathy for her a lot more than admiration.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- R. L.
- 15-06-22
Not my Favorite
I love self-narrative stories about thru hikes. I want so badly to like this author, especially after all she’s accomplished. However, her stories are so centered solely around herself and her accomplishments, it is hard for me to read. Most of the narratives I read have colorful stories about events and other hikers along the trail to self-discovery. This story is just about how she tells herself she fails everything and then how she doesn’t. Rinse and repeat. I pushed through Thirst, but could not push myself through this one.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MuhammadC
- 12-11-21
why is the narrator so breathy?
The book was great! My only issue was with the narration. why was the narrator so breathless and breathy? every sentence sounds like a huff and puff.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- CP
- 11-09-21
Narrator Issues
Couldn’t finish this book because the narrator sucks in her breath every sentence. Perhaps she is trying to add what she feels is the author’s constant anxiety.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rennie
- 30-08-21
Pounding Head
As a distance runner, primarily trails here in the Rockies of Montana (Bitterroot Selway Range) and someone who will be moving into ultra marathons next year, the author's incessant whining and bad decision making is maddening in this book. Truly hard to listen to.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- cmccurry
- 20-08-21
Narration difficult to listen to
I really wanted to like this book, but the narrator speaks so breathlessly, as though reading a romance novel, I just couldn’t listen anymore. I can’t rate the story itself because I could only tolerate it for about 15 minutes. Hope you have better luck than me.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Qtsbuster
- 15-08-21
Way Too Dramatic
While I admire the many incredible accomplishments of Anish, and don’t doubt the many “downers” of any hike and particularly an FKT, this book is SO dramatic where almost nothing happens that is good or enjoyable. It didn’t make me excited to continue reading.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 22-01-23
Love Yourself
It was amazing what she was able to accomplish on the appalachian trail. But her journey of self acceptance was the real story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Clifford L.
- 16-01-23
Great Book
Great book for those getting ready to tackle the AT!!! This book shows you the mental toughness need to complete the AT.